You can keep Christmas, I’ll celebrate the Yule!

Many folks don’t realize this, but Christmas is a distorted echo of an ancient pagan, or witchcraft, celebration of the Winter Solstice. The Yule, or YuleTide, was begun on or about December 25th, which is the first day that it is always possible, no matter which day the solstice falls upon, to measure the shortening of a shadow cast at noon. The celebration lasted weeks, or even months, as the primitive people of Western Europe gathered together to face their greatest enemy, the winter. The evergreen tree was a symbol of Life carrying on through the Death of winter. Candles were symbols of the Sun, which made life possible.

In a time when nothing was taken for granted, and gods peopled the heavens and earth, the idea that the Sun could just keep going South was not uncommon. To believe that the world could end up in eternal night gave great cause for celebration when it was determined that the Sun was coming back. Because people had lots of spare time during the months of Autumn, they could make handycrafts, which they shared with each other when they gathered for YuleTide. An animal would be slaughtered, the thinning of the stock to ensure that some survived the winter, and a feast would be held.

Thus, the traditions of the Yule have been passed down, but the celebration has been distorted by Greed. In order to get people out shopping, buying the things that they can no longer make, decorations go up early, special occasions are held, and people are encouraged to spend money on their loved ones. A countdown to the day is held, and the anticipation builds, aided by commercials. When the day finally arrives, it is a let down. Soon, people are unhappy with the whole thing, and decide to take down the festive lights.

Killing a tree every year was never part of the Yule celebration, only decorating one outdoors. For one thing, there was no room in the huts that families shared for a tree, and the idea of killing an evergreen at that time of year was like heresy. Gift giving was not a given, (ha ha) but no one was expecting anything. An article that someone has worked on for hours has that persons energy in it, and it has power emotionally. Simply handing out gifts would have diminished the impact that gifts had, I believe.

because the celebration of the Yule was so deeply ingrained in the native population of Western Europe, the Christian church gave up trying to stop the celebration, and incorporated it into the Christian calander. Because the populous believed that the Sun was reborn at the solstice, the church held that the Son was born at that time. (This in spite of it being generally believed by scholars at the time that Christ was born during the Spring or Summer.) The emphasis was placed on the religious meaning of the Christian celebration, and the Yule was not mentioned.

To me, Christmas has come to represent the worst of American culture, with Greed being the major offender, followed by Materialism. People have been lead to believe that the celebration goes on before the fact, not after, so that they will buy more. I embrace the Yule, because it does not have the materialistic trappings, and it spans the time when it is first noticeable that the days are getting longer. That is the promise of another Spring, and Life returning. That, to me, is the Reason For The Season.

I just wrote another article about our Pagan Yule/Solstice. This is good too. I wrote about getting along with the Christians and their christmas this time of year at: http://www.greanwitch.wordpress.com